


Reboot It!

by AKioshiWarrior



Category: Animaniacs, Looney Tunes | Merrie Melodies
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mostly implied probably, Protective Siblings, Selectively Mute Wakko, Sibling Bonding, Temporary Character Death, That will also be in later chapters, The show says "reanimated" but I say it's NECROMANCY, fluff in later chapters, i guess?, no beta we die like fools
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28976403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKioshiWarrior/pseuds/AKioshiWarrior
Summary: No one has seen the Warner trio in the last twenty years. Not that anyone seems to question it. Only the executives and a small task force know their location. When their show starts getting attention again, a request for a reboot is made. The Warners are brought back to the studio lot to work out the details of their contract, and filming begins almost immediately. They gain the interest of a particular grey hare who has more questions than what Yakko is comfortable with. Wakko and Dot notice when their brother starts acting different again. They all desperately cling to each other, refusing to be separated ever again.
Relationships: Bugs Bunny & Yakko Warner, Dot Warner & Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner
Comments: 31
Kudos: 121





	1. good morning, nobody!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yakko "wakes up" in an unfamiliar place.

“Hold still, darnit!”

Yakko squirmed underneath the weight of the round man pinning him down. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say he was panicking.

… Okay, he was panicking. They tore him from a page in a sketchbook and shoved him into their current plane of existence rather unceremoniously. Cuffs on his wrists prevented him from using his toon abilities. Wakko and Dot were nowhere in sight. The last thing he remembered wasn’t what he would describe as ‘pleasant’. He tried getting his mind off it by focusing on the blood pounding in his ears. The man’s arm on his neck wasn’t helping the situation either.

“Joe! Give me a hand, would’ya?” The man barked. Joe grumbled and shuffled over. He knelt down next to Yakko’s head. “Keep its head and arms down while I take these things off.”

Yakko struggled to keep a growl from escaping. Hands entered his field of view and he snapped his jaws at them.

“Woah, kid! Barry, you sure you want to get rid of those? I’m startin’ to think we ought to muzzle him.” Joe scowled.

Barry scoffed. “And have the other toons in this place thinking we’re keeping prisoners? That’d be real fun to explain to the press.”

Joe held his hands up. “Just sayin’, the kid’s pretty violent now. You’re essentially arming him. It’d be great to clean up whatever damage he causes,” he sniped.

“You know what would be even better? Explaining what the _hell_ is going on to ‘ _the kid’_ ,” Yakko snarled in between labored breaths.

“Oh great, so he _can_ speak! I was worried we got the wrong one for a minute.”

Yakko blinked away the spots that were creeping into his vision. “It’s not like you gave us much room to explain anything in the first place, bud,” grumbled Barry. Yakko leveled his gaze with a glare. “You make a good point though, Joe. Thing’s been acting worse than a wild dog. Might want to keep it locked up a little longer.”

Yakko bristled at the man’s tone. As soon as he had his siblings, they’d be out of this place.

“Ease up on him a little, and we can fill him in. I’m sure that’ll calm him down a bit.”

Yakko snorted. “A revolutionary idea! Stop strangling the literal _child_ and maybe he _won’t_ act like you’re trying to kill him!”

Barry rolled his eyes at the suggestion but turned his attention back to Yakko. “Alright inky, you think you can handle sitting still and listening for a few minutes?”

“Depends, is it a good story?”

“Yes or no question. I have no problem restraining you.”

He bit back the urge to make another stupid remark and gave Barry a nod. The large man let go and stood next to Joe. Yakko sat himself up, holding a hand to his throat. He glared at the two humans staring down at him. “Where are they?”

“Assuming you’re talking about your siblings, they’re in the same spot you were a few minutes ago.” Joe folded his arms. “You were in suspended animation.”

“You’ll have to elaborate on that, mac.”

“Suspended animation. Put back on the paper. Think of it kind of like a coma—you just woke up. We’ve reanimated you.”

“How long?”

“It’s 2018.”

“Twenty—” Yakko reeled. He was out for twenty years? And they reanimated him. Resurrected him, really. When you were in a coma, you could still breathe. Your heart beat. When he ‘woke up’, that had been the first breath he took in a while. He felt his heart jump-start. That wasn’t sleep. It was death. He supposed it was better than being locked up in the tower. 

Actually, scratch that. Being dead was worse than being locked at home. Being dead meant he missed being around his siblings for a solid 20 years. And his friends, his co-stars, did they know what happened to them? He hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye to them before they were caught.

“I-I don’t understand.” His eyes darted between the two men. “Why?”

Barry snorted and shook his head. “Time doesn’t stop just ‘cause you’re dead.”

Joe elbowed him in the ribs and shot him a look before turning his attention back to Yakko. “They’re rebooting ‘Animaniacs’. The old series started getting attention again and Mr. Spielberg latched on to the idea of a reboot.”

That calmed Yakko a bit. If Spielberg was involved, it had to be good. 

“The CEO wants to talk to you about getting a contract written up for you kids. If you’re willing to behave, you can go see her now.”

Yakko chewed on his lip. “Okay.”

“Great,” Joe grinned. “Barry, get back over here. Alright kid, let’s take those things off.”

Barry stumbled back to them and pulled a key out of his pocket. Yakko stood up and held out his hands, Barry grabbing his wrists to unlock the cuffs. The restraints popped off and Barry pocketed them along with the key. 

“Just go to where Plotz’s office used to be. You should find her secretary around there. They can point you in the right direction,” said Joe.

“Are you going to let my siblings out?” Yakko rubbed his wrists and side-eyed Barry.

“Sorry bud, we can’t until we get word back from the CEO.”

He frowned and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. They were still in their paper coffins, trapped in a lockbox on the drawing table. He glanced at the box, as if looking at it would make them appear. It didn’t work. He left.

He found his way outside within a minute and re-oriented himself. The executive’s building caught his eye, and he started running towards it. The sooner he got there, the sooner he could have his siblings. That thought motivated Yakko to burst into a toon sprint. He’d have his siblings back. 

Soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first (real) fic for Animaniacs! I have a lot of ideas for this story, so hopefully it'll translate into words well. I don't think there will be a regular update schedule for this, but I will try to post chapters at somewhat predictable intervals. Let me know what you think!


	2. wait whaddaya mean you're serious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yakko meets the new CEO.

The trip from the animation department to the exec’s building was short and uneventful. Yakko didn’t recognize any of the toons or actors that were roaming around. That was fine, he decided. He wasn’t sightseeing. He needed to get Wakko and Dot.

The elevator ride to the top floor was long. He shot out of the elevator and dashed through the halls towards Plotz’s old office. He may have sent a few people stumbling in his mad rush, but that didn’t concern him. The office was just around the corner, the familiar click-clack of a keyboard reaching his ears.

The little secretary jumped when the black and white blur shot by her desk, earning a small shout of surprise. Yakko dug his heels into the floor to skid to a stop and nearly fell face first when he realized he passed the secretary’s desk. He whipped around and ran up to the comically short woman. 

“I’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Wells. I can put you on hold if you’d like, or I can call you back once we sort everything out.” She glanced up at Yakko and smiled, using her shoulder to hold the phone to her ear and typing something out on the keyboard. “Alright, we’ll get back to you soon. Take care.”

The phone made a satisfying ‘click’ when she placed it in the receiver. The secretary turned towards Yakko, who bounced in place. “Yakko Warner?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“I’ll let Miss Norita know you’re here. You can let yourself into the office.” She gave him directions to the room he was looking for. Her voice was gentle, calming his nerves a little. Yakko liked her. She was kind. Maybe the CEO would be kind too.

Yakko found his way to the office with relative ease. He hesitated for a moment and pushed open the door. It was just a quick chat with the new boss. What was there to worry about?

 _“Well, for starters, my siblings are still dead,”_ he thought.

The woman he presumed to be ‘Miss Norita’ stared out the window, her back to him. She appeared to be having a one sided conversation with—Yakko looked around the room—herself. As if Plotz wasn’t crazy enough.

A quick look at his surroundings informed him that this wasn’t her regular office. In the middle of the room sat a desk with a red wingback chair closest to him, and a cushy-looking executive chair on the opposite side. A built-in bookcase covered the wall to his left, filled with books and small sculptures or plants. The right wall held framed awards sporting the Warner Bros. emblem. The room itself wasn’t small, but it certainly wasn’t roomy. There was adequate walking space, but two more people would make it cramped. He figured that this was a space to conduct business with individuals: discussions about contracts, potential employment, and in Yakko’s experience, it was a place to be reprimanded. At least, whenever he was called to see Plotz for his (nearly) daily dose of scolding, it was in a room like this.

Yakko cleared his throat to indicate his presence. He rubbed his wrists before shoving his hands into his pockets. _‘You shouldn’t look vulnerable in front of the higher-ups.’_ When she didn’t respond, he glanced at the nameplate on her desk. ‘Nora Rita Norita’. Clearing his throat again, he spoke.

“‘Scuse me, Nors?”

Nora turned her head and glanced at Yakko, who straightened up and grinned, a twinkle in his eye. She brought her hand up to her ear and muttered something before turning to face him. Yakko noted that she had been talking into what resembled the headsets people working at fast-food chains wore. 

“Yakko. Take a seat.”

“When do you want it back?”

_“Sit.”_

The smile dropped off of his face and he resisted the instinct to obey immediately, his tail twitching. They stared at each other for a moment, Yakko making the first move to sit on the edge of the wingback seat. Nora’s heels clicked against the floor while she crossed the room to stand by her chair.

“You must be aware of the reboot by now, yes?”

Adopting his carefree attitude, he spoke. “The way you phrased that question was incredibly ominous, Rita, but—”

Her eyes snapped to him. “Yes?”

Yakko failed to resist wincing. “Yes.”

“We have quite a few things to discuss. Fortunately for me, we’re on a time limit. Let me make some things clear, Warner.” Nora took her seat and folded her hands in front of her. “The law considers you property of Warner Brothers Studios at the moment. I have a drafted contract that goes into the details of the reboot. If we come to an agreement, the studio’s status will change from owner to guardian.” She produced a small stack of papers and slid it towards Yakko.

“So nothing changes.”

“Right, you were dead for the last twenty years,” Nora mumbled to herself. Yakko flinched at the remark and doubted that she hadn’t meant for him to hear it. She continued at her normal volume. “There have been changes to laws regarding toons. Look it up later if you like. The point is, you would have more rights than you currently have. It also means that someone could potentially file for guardianship of you.”

“So that’s why you want the title change, huh?” Yakko leaned forward in his chair and grinned.

She rolled her eyes. “Please, you know better than anyone else that nobody would _willingly_ take you in.”

He ignored the pit that manifested in his stomach when his heart dropped and fought off a grimace. Instead, he sat back in his seat and offered a polite smile. 

“Semantics aside, I think you would find the potential contract intriguing.” Nora nodded at the papers in front of him. 

“With a chance to get out from under your thumb? It sounds like a godsend,” malice crept into his words, but the smile stayed on his face.

 _“Watch your tone.”_ She pointed her eyes at him. “I understand your contempt for the studio, considering your previous treatment. I wouldn’t wish it upon the vilest toon. You are, however, still under contract with us. Speaking against the company in front of the wrong people will put you in more trouble than it’s worth.”

Yakko was familiar with the consequences. A few executives had it out for him and his sibs during the original show’s air. He made a joke at an exec’s expense during a meeting once, which landed them on the ‘Baloney and Kids’ show for a week. During an interview, Wakko mentioned something they did in 1946 while being trapped in the tower. The press laughed, but after the interview, Plotz ordered Wakko and Dot back to the tower and Yakko to meet him in his office. He spent the afternoon yelling at Yakko about the studio’s image, how “as far as the world’s concerned, the Warners were drawn in the 90s,” and if they had another slip up, he’d cancel ‘Animaniacs’ and they’d “be dealt with”.

Needless to say, Yakko did his best to keep his siblings out of that sort of trouble. They didn’t talk about the “before times” unless they were completely alone in the tower. He was pretty sure that the only people who knew about their imprisonment were the CEO’s and whatever small task force they had to wrangle the Warners.

Regarding their usual shenanigans, the only _real_ punishment they received was that cursed week with Baloney. Sure, they’d were threatened with imprisonment in the tower, but the executives who suggested it didn’t _mean_ it. Wakko and Dot got away with a scolding and a slap on the wrist. Yakko had a little more difficulty staying out of trouble due to his self-sacrificing tendencies and his astounding inability to shut up. Hence his familiarity with the type of room he was in now.

“There will be questions regarding your whereabouts over the past twenty years,” said Nora. “Fortunately no one takes you seriously.”

“The toon doesn’t fall far from the chief exec,” he mocked.

She continued without even batting an eye. “I expect you to keep things that way. You’re a smart boy. You’ll find that I am not a woman of empty threats.”

“Anything else I need to know?”

“I should mention that the refusal of the job would be unpleasant, to say the least.”

“After the past eighty-something years of my existence, I find that hard to believe.”

She continued by ignoring his snide remark. “I have an exhaustive list detailing all of your escapades and shenanigans for the six years you were out.” Nora folded her hands beneath her chin and looked down at Yakko. “Were a lawsuit to occur, we have more than enough evidence to support the idea of keeping you away from society and to justify the company’s actions.”

“Well, the tower can be a little crowded but we managed it for sixty years—”

“The best-case scenario for that route would be putting you back in the books.”

“Like, school? That isn’t so bad—”

“The worst possible outcome for _you_ would be getting put down.”

“I didn’t realize how much popularity morbid humor has gained.”

“The courts aren’t above using DIP.”

Yakko blanched. “I–I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“Look at the contract, Yakko. It’s only a draft, so nothing is set in stone. Think about it and let the animators know your decision.” Nora pushed her chair back and stood. “Now get out of here. I have a call I need to get back to.”

He took the stack of papers from the desk in front of him and clenched his fists in an effort to keep them from shaking. Bile burned his throat, but he kept it down. With a nod at Nora, he got up and went into the hallway. 

Reviewing the contract could wait. He tossed the papers into his hammerspace, leaned back against the wall with a fist to his mouth, and stared at the floor in front of him.

He’d agree to the contract—no questions there. He’d review it a _lot_. Maybe Scratchy could help him out with that part. Legal-speak wasn’t something Yakko was proficient in, and he needed some sort of assurance that they wouldn’t be duped. A company-paid lawyer wasn’t someone he was going to trust. Scratchansniff would be adequate. Heloise Nerz would be ideal to consult, but Yakko wasn’t as comfortable talking to her about his worries. Scratchy knew Yakko’s priorities and sort of understood where he was coming from.

All that talk about a potential lawsuit had his fur standing on end. He wished he could say she was bluffing, but he knew for a fact that Plotz kept a record of every little thing they had done. And what she said about DIP—was that true? Nothing about their conversation indicated that she would lie. He’d be doing a lot of research on toon court cases from the past two decades. 

He took a moment to get his breathing back under control and tried to stop shaking. Once the tremor was concentrated in his hands, he made his way back to the animation department with twice the speed he’d used to leave. The door nearly fell off its hinges when he burst into the room Joe and Barry were in, and he doubled over to catch his breath. Joe looked at him expectantly and Barry grumbled.

“Well?”

Yakko looked up and met Barry’s stare. Between breaths, he spoke.

“We’ll do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bada bing bada boom B) Yakko meets Nora Rita Norita! She comes off as a little... evil, maybe, but in reality she's just a busy woman trying to make a profit off of a few children!! /j  
> Coming up: all three Warners are reunited, and Yakko spends time comforting Wakko while they wait for Dot.


	3. reunited and it feels so good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Warners are back together!

Yakko bounced his leg and craned his neck to see what the two men were doing. Joe sat him on a stool after his grand entrance while Barry got to work, pulling a key out and unlocking the box on the desk. He snapped on some latex gloves and pulled out what resembled an old children’s book: two pieces of thin chipboard with worn green fabric stretched over them, joined at the spine with a few pages sandwiched between them, Wakko’s name scrawled on the front of the book. Some sort of adhesive sealed the edges of the paper shut. 

Barry began to meticulously remove the seal on the pages with a utility knife. After a solid hour, he put down the knife and opened the book. Yakko perked up and glimpsed at the page he was on.

There was his brother, frozen behind a shiny coat of… 

“What’s that?” Yakko asked.

Joe startled at the sound of his voice. He handed Barry a glass rod and glanced over his shoulder to look at Yakko. “It’s masking fluid. Usually used for keeping ink or paint from getting on the paper. In this case, it’s used to keep ink from getting out.”

Barry rubbed the masking fluid off the page with the glass rod, most of it rolling into a small rubbery ball. A few stray pieces looked like eraser shavings. This barrier was removed much faster, and within a few minutes, Barry was taking off his gloves and standing to stretch. Yakko watched the page while his tail flicked from side to side, waiting for any signs of life from his brother.

Sure enough, Wakko’s inky form started pushing itself out of the page. In the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of them. He gasped and his eyes shot open, looking around frantically while curling in on himself, backing away from the animators. Yakko recognized his stance; He was going to make a run for it.

Wakko dove towards the space between Barry and Joe’s legs with impeccable form Yakko had to admire. He barely touched the ground, ready to run off on all fours when Barry snatched him up in his arms.  _ That _ snapped Yakko out of his trance. His brother wiggled and thrashed in Barry’s hold, growling and baring his teeth at the man.

“Put him down!” Yakko leaped at Barry, intending to wrench Wakko from his clutches, when another pair of hands grabbed his arms and held him back. He shot a glare over his shoulder at Joe and slipped out of his grasp—man, it felt  _ great _ to be toony again—and launched himself.

Wakko’s ears perked up when he heard his brother’s voice and he whipped his head around to see him, smacking Barry’s face with the back of his hat in the process. Yakko leaped over him and landed on the animator’s shoulders. He bent over and hung his head in front of Barry’s face. “Hey there B-man, quick question, what the hell are you doing?” He grinned, showing his sharp teeth and tilting his head to the side.

Barry seemed unfazed by his attempt to appear intimidating. “Keepin’ your brother from scamperin’ off. You’re welcome,” he spat.

“Wow, dumber than advertised,” Yakko mumbled and rolled his eyes. “Look buddy, as much as I definitely, one-hundred percent, and  _ genuinely _ appreciate that, you’re about to make it to the top of my list of special friends if you don’t put him down  _ now _ .”

“You—”

“Let go of him.”

“He—”

“ _ Now _ .”

Barry scowled and dropped Wakko, who tumbled onto his rear. He stood and backed away from the man, eyes glued on Yakko.

“Thanks!” Yakko planted a big, sloppy kiss on Barry’s cheek and jumped off of his shoulders, sending him stumbling to the ground and wiping his mouth with the back of his hands while cursing. Wakko latched onto his brother the moment he landed next to him, trembling.

“Y-Yakko, wh-what’s going o-on?” Wakko struggled to speak, his words coming out like air leaking from a balloon, hardly what you would consider a whisper.

Yakko wrapped his arms around his brother’s small frame, pulling him into a hug and rubbing his back. “It’s okay,” he whispered, “you’re safe. We just need to get Dot, okay? I’ll explain when we get her back.” Wakko nodded, his face against his chest. “Toss me the keys, would ya’?” Yakko said to Barry, who looked at him in complete bewilderment.

Before Barry could protest, Joe had snatched the keys and gave them to Yakko. He took them and pulled away from Wakko, removing the cuffs on his brother’s wrists and chucking them at the floor. He hated them. He hated the look on his brother’s face, the fear in his eyes, and he wanted to burn the whole place down because of it. Maybe he would.

He glared at Barry and picked Wakko up, which proved to be difficult considering how stiff Wakko was, and carried him over to his seat. Wakko settled in his lap, clutching Yakko’s fur like a lifeline, tears streaming down his face and quietly hiccupping. It might have embarrassed normal kids, being cradled and rocked like a baby, but not Wakko. All he wanted was his family. A third of it might be missing for now, but being held by his brother eased his worries enough to stop crying.

While Yakko held his brother, Barry snatched the keys off the ground and grumbled as he went back to the lockbox. He pulled out another book, nearly identical to the one Wakko was in, and began the process again.

“You got your gag bag?” Yakko asked in a whisper. Wakko sniffed and nodded. “Did ya’ leave any snacks in there?” He paused and shook his head. “Okay, let me check if I have anything.”

Yakko reached one of his arms around his back and into his hammerspace. Hopefully, he left something in there. He pulled his hand back, holding a granola bar. The expiration date read ‘MAY 22, 1999’.

“Hey, do you think 19-year-old granola bars are any good?” His heart dropped when he met Wakko’s eyes, wide with shock.

His hands moved in a flurry, signing ‘19 years?’ and waited for a response.

Yakko internally facepalmed. He could’ve waited until he had both of his siblings to break the news. “Yeah, Wak. We’ve been gone for a while.”

Wakko chewed his lip and glanced at a calendar on the wall, open to January 2018. He looked back up at his brother and shrugged. ‘It should be fine.’

Yakko tore open the wrapper and handed it off to Wakko, who was only nibbling at the food rather than consuming it in one bite. At least it distracted him enough for his breathing to even out.

Another hour passed, and Wakko was struggling to stay awake. Yakko hated to have to disturb him, but Barry was almost finished getting the masking fluid off of Dot’s page.

“Hey Wak,” he nudged his brother. “Think you can stand? Dot’s going to be here soon.”

Wakko nodded his head groggily and pushed himself off of Yakko’s lap. He held onto Yakko’s hand once he stood up.

Barry didn’t even have the chance to put down the glass rod before a black and white blur shot out of the page and hit the bottom of his chin, sending him reeling backwards and falling out of his chair. There was a high-pitched scream and Dot stood before them, claws poking through her gloves and fangs bared. Yakko and Wakko ran towards her, Yakko calling out her name and Wakko giving her a hug. Her expression immediately softened and claws retracted.

“Wakko?” She pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him, searching for something. Apparently satisfied with what she saw, she hugged him.

Yakko snatched the ring of keys from the table and ran back to Dot, taking her hands and unlocking the cuffs. They fell to the floor and he kicked them away. Barry was starting to get up, his face turned red, and Yakko removed the key to the cuffs and chucked it in his hammerspace. He slung Wakko over his shoulder and picked up Dot in his other arm, turning to face the two animators with a lopsided grin.

“Sayonara!”

Startled shouts and the sound of objects dropping to the floor filled their ears after Yakko broke into a toon sprint out of the building. 

“Where are we going?” Dot’s voice shook as they ran through the lot.

Crud. He hadn’t thought about that. He wouldn’t take them back to the tower—that would be the easiest place to find them, if anyone was going to be searching for them. There were plenty of studios on the lot, they could find one that’s empty and hide there. They’d risk getting caught by security if they stumbled into too many occupied sets, though. And they definitely couldn’t go off the lot, at least not without a willing studio employee.

A lightbulb appeared over his head as he thought of something and a grin split his face.

“Yakko?”

“Let’s go find our favorite p-sychiatrist!”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too exciting of a chapter, but y'all better get ready, 'cause the fifth chapter is going to be a DOOZY.
> 
> Coming up next: A little bit of Scratchansniff's perspective as well as some catharsis on Dot's and Wakko's parts.


	4. don't mind us, everything is perfectly fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Warner Siblings make a surprise appearance at Doctor Scratchansniff's office.

Doctor Scratchansniff was enjoying a soothing cup of tea in his office while reading through and updating one of his patient’s records when he heard shouting outside the door. It almost sounded like… 

No, that’s absurd. No one has seen the Warners since the party for completing  _ Wakko’s Wish _ . Why would they be here now?

A knock on the door to the tune of ‘Shave and a Haircut’ interrupted his musings. He glanced at his calendar—his last appointment for the day was a few hours ago. Perhaps it was just the new secretary coming to him with a question. He closed the record he was reading and opened the door a crack before it flew open, eliciting a scream from him. As quickly as it had opened, it closed, with three little inksplot toons leaning against it.

Well, one was leaning against it. The other two hung off of him.

“Heya, Scratchy!” Yakko grinned and let go of his siblings, Dot landing gracefully on her feet and Wakko hitting the floor with a resounding thud. They both reached for their brother, grabbing either a hand or a pant leg and standing close.

Another knock at the door diverted Scratchansniff’s attention, this time much more frantic. The children jumped out of the way and hid while he opened it. In front of him stood the new secretary, clearly out of breath.

“Doctor—I’m so sorry. Are they in here? I can call security—”

“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary,” Scratchansniff said. “These kidsies are always welcome.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes, yes, absolutely,” he urged the man to leave. “There is nothing to be worried about. Thank you for your concern.”

He closed the door and turned to see the Warners poking their heads out from behind his desk. Yakko smiled sheepishly, the younger siblings staring at him with wide eyes. Was there something on his face? Nevermind, he shouldn’t concern himself with his appearance right now. He had three little toons in his office to talk to.

Scratchansniff gave the children a small smile and walked around the desk to stand next to them. Their collective recoil didn’t go unnoticed. He could address that later.

“It’s been quite a long time since I’ve seen you three,” Scratchansniff said. “No doubt you have been causing trouble, ja?”

“Something like it! Say, uh, Scratchy, would it be alright if we hung around here for a while?”

That caught him off guard. “Yes, that is not a problem. I won’t be going home for a few more hours.” The toons seemed to relax a little. “I must ask, Yakko, where have you kidsies been?”

The brothers tensed up and Dot looked confused. “Taking a nap,” Yakko grinned. “C’mon, sibs. Let’s give Scratchy some space while he works.” He guided his siblings over to a corner of the room, tucked behind the couch and a large potted plant.

Scratchansniff stared at the Warners in bewilderment. He had never seen them look so shaken. Each of them had trouble with the more emotional side of things. In all six years he spent as their psychiatrist, they never came to him willingly unless they were planning to torment him. No matter how hard he tried, he could never get them to open up about their feelings. They made everything they were uncomfortable with into a joke. It was a coping mechanism. They thought they hid their discomfort well enough, but Scratchansniff was no fool. He figured out how to read them (their ears and tails were pretty good indicators), but pretended to remain oblivious. If they thought he knew how they felt, they raised their guard and became one-dimensional characters. They presented themselves as three zany toons, nothing more and nothing less.

He supposed that was a defense mechanism of theirs. If they felt vulnerable, they shielded themselves and did whatever they could to get people away. Their methods were similar to those they used to drive away their “special friends”. Scratchansniff might’ve been the only person they felt comfortable around. They displayed more genuine emotions around him, and for heaven’s sake, they were hiding in his office instead of the water tower.

Something was wrong, and they were trying hard to hide it. They might be able to fool the others on this lot, but not him. He knew they were struggling. He wanted to help. These kids needed their zany back.

“It’s rude to stare at people, you know!”

Doctor Scratchansniff snapped out of his musings and realized Dot had spoken. She looked fine to the untrained eye, but he could see the fire in her eyes wasn’t as bright as it usually was. He shook his head before he could get stuck in his own thoughts again.

“Ah, yes. My apologies,” he mumbled. The patient record he was reviewing still sat on his desk. He could get some more work done, although that was unlikely when the Warners were around. 

He took his seat and read through the file again, becoming increasingly worried as time passed. The children were silent. He cast a glance towards their hiding spot and caught Yakko signing to his siblings. They looked so  _ small _ . Scratchansniff couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. With his experience in psychology, he was not happy with the possibilities.

All three of them were looking at him and he realized that he was staring. He muttered a quick apology and turned back to work, mind still focused on the kids.

* * *

Yakko waited for a few minutes before continuing his explanation to his siblings. They were going to deal with Scratchy breathing down their necks for sure now, but that was something they could handle. They never really “opened up” to the man before, and they wouldn’t start doing that now. Terrorizing him seemed to stop him from sticking his nose in their business.

His explanation was pretty straightforward. It was 2018, and they were getting a reboot. He’d be working on getting their new contract ironed out—no way in  _ hell _ were they going back in the books. 

Dot was  _ livid _ . Yakko said they were sleeping for the past twenty years. She and Wakko shared a look. They knew he was trying to be delicate about it. She remembered what happened before getting trapped. Well, she thought she did. To be honest, it was all a blur. She  _ did _ know that they had to knock her out.

She wanted to scream and cry and destroy this stupid place, not  _ work for it _ . Not after everything they did to her family. But, although Yakko didn’t mention it, she knew they wouldn’t be free to do whatever they wanted if they refused. They were  _ killed _ sedated the night of the movie release party. She doubted they would let them go freely.

Yakko must have noticed her silent fuming because a “cone of silence” (thank you, Mr. Henry) dropped around their heads and he offered her a pillow. Dot accepted it and clutched it in her shaky hands, before burying her face in it and letting out a blood-curdling scream. She should feel bad, Wakko was sobbing now and Yakko was trying to look strong and collected, though the tears welling up in his eyes betrayed him. She screamed and yelled and cursed into the pillow for minutes before they turned into sobs.

Dot looked back up when she had calmed down enough to hiccup every so often between otherwise silent tears. Wakko was sitting on their brother’s lap, sniffling and leaning against his chest, expression resorted to a hundred-yard-stare. A pang of guilt made her twinge, as she couldn’t help but blame herself for his state. Yakko patted his free leg and held his hand out to her. She set aside the pillow and climbed into his lap, snuggling up to his chest. She took Wakko’s hand in her own and squeezed it, bringing him back to earth. 

Yakko let out a shaky sigh and relaxed into the wall, arms cradling his siblings. The pillow he produced for Dot disappeared, and the “cone of silence” would too in a minute. He was just glad that he could keep it up for this long. He had used most of his energy toonsprinting here, it was a miracle he had enough to allow his siblings to vent.

“You can cry too, you know.”

Dot’s tiny voice broke his train of thought. He looked down at his sister with a small smile. “I don’t cry. I just sweat through my eyes.” 

Dot opened her mouth to speak, but the “cone of silence” vanished and she closed it. She was pretty sure that he did that on purpose. With a glare, she put her head down and snuggled back into his arms.

She was glad they were hidden from Scratchy. This was something much more suited for the privacy of the tower, though she would be lying if she said she wanted to go back right now. It didn’t seem like the most secure place at the moment. Where were they safe, anyways? The tower was their home, a prison turned sanctuary, though they ruined that for them too.

Why did the people hate them so much? First, they were “too zany”, so they locked them in the tower. Then they escaped and had some degree of freedom, only for it to be taken away whenever the adults got upset. And after they  _ served their purpose _ , their home was broken into and their lives were taken from them. And-and now what, they’ve been resurrected for the studio’s attempt at a cash-grab?

She was getting herself worked up again. Wakko squeezed her hand and she took a couple of deep breaths before focusing on her brothers’ purrs. She joined them. 

Soon, both of his siblings were asleep. Yakko pressed a kiss to the top of their heads and leaned his head back, trying to sort out his thoughts.

They didn’t need to go back to the tower right away. A clock on the wall told him that they had a couple more hours before they needed to leave Scratchansniff’s office. After that, they could run around the lot and trash some things. It didn’t seem like anyone was looking for them right now. No one had knocked on the office door, the phone hadn’t rung, there wasn’t an announcement on the speaker system.

Were they safe? Were they in trouble? If he reasoned through those questions, the answers were “probably not”. But then again, who at this studio sees reason? 

The next two hours flew by with Yakko making plans for a multitude of “what-if” scenarios. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t hear Doctor Scratchansniff calling out his name. Once the doctor entered his peripheral view by pushing aside the leaves of the potted plant, he snapped out of his thoughts and met the man’s eyes.

“It’s time for us to go. Ahh—before you wake them up,” Scratchansniff said, “Yakko, where have you three been? No one has seen you since the party.”

Yakko plastered on a smile. “We were trapped in the secret archives, with all of our ‘nonsensical’ films from the 1930s and Walt Disney’s cryogenically frozen head!”

“Why are you hiding, Yakko?”

“Uuuuuhhh because we’re trying not to get caught?”

Scratchansniff frowned. He was dancing around the issue. “What happened?”

Yakko shrugged. “Messed with a couple of animators, that’s all.”

“That is it? Why did you not go back to the tower?” he pressed.

“Well,” Yakko drawled, trying to come up with an explanation.  _ ‘It was too far.’  _ No, the tower was closer to the animation department than the office.  _ ‘We wanted to visit you!’ _ They hadn’t talked to him this entire time.  _ ‘The last time we were there, we were attacked in the middle of the night, stripped of our toony-ness, and essentially murdered in the living room!’ _

How  _ cheery _ .

“Well?”

Yakko realized that Scratchansniff was blocking their exit. The door seemed so, so far away from them now. The walls were closing in on him and he was trapped—

_ ‘It’s okay,’ _ he thought before he could spiral.  _ ‘It’s just Scratchy. We’re okay.’ _

“Spiders,” Yakko blurted out. “Lots of ‘em.”

“Spiders?” Scratchansniff echoed.

“Yup!” He nudged his siblings awake. “They moved in while we were gone. We’re giving them a week to pack up and leave. Come on, sibs, we gotta go!”

The answer didn’t satisfy Scratchansniff, but he realized that whatever the reason was, Yakko wouldn’t share it. He sighed and shook his head, going back to his desk and grabbing his belongings.

Wakko’s head spun when Yakko set him and Dot on the ground. It had that weird fuzzy feeling that he couldn’t quite shake off, and his heartbeat was simultaneously too strong and too weak. He latched on to his brother’s leg before he could fall over. Yakko said something to him, but he couldn’t quite make it out. He was hoisted into the air and set on Yakko’s hip. 

“C’mon Wak, stay awake.” Yakko shifted his brother so he could hold him and Dot’s hand at the same time. “Do I need to pie Dot so you can have something until we can get some real food in ya’? I’ll do it.”

“Mmph.”

“That wasn’t a no,” Yakko sang.

“No,” Wakko mumbled. “‘m fine.”

“Does Wakko need a snack?”

Yakko turned to see Scratchansniff watching them. “Sure, if you have something.”

Scratchy nodded and opened one drawer in his desk, retrieving a little package of trail mix. He handed it off to Yakko and led the children out of the office.

“Wakko,  _ wait! _ ”

Scratchansniff locked the door behind them while Yakko wrestled the unopened snack from his brother’s hands.

“It’s won’t help you any if it’s stuck in the plastic!”

“I can’t open it, I’m too weak!”

“Give it to me, you big baby!” Dot snatched it from Yakko’s hand and tore it open with her teeth, handing it back to the middle sibling.

A chuckle escaped Scratchansniff’s lips. “How long will you three be back for?” he asked.

“Oh! Uh, about that. We’re not sure yet.” Yakko straightened Wakko’s hat to distract himself. He always felt uncomfortable when he asked for help. If he could focus on something other than the conversation, he’d feel better about it. “The studio wants a reboot, and we still need to go through the paperwork and all that jazz. Actually, I was wondering if you could help us out with the legal stuff?”

“I would be happy to help, Yakko, but I’ll be honest; a lawyer would be much more suited for this task.” He noticed Yakko frown at that—maybe they couldn’t afford a lawyer. “The studio should be able to provide one—”

“I’d rather have someone we know help us,” Yakko interrupted.

Right, they didn’t trust most of the studio’s administrative employees. He didn’t blame them, especially with how Plotz treated them. “Alright, I will do my best to help you.”

The Warners walked with Scratchy as long as they could before they split off towards the cafeteria. He waved goodbye to them and watched them walk away. They weren’t back to their normal selves yet, but they were acting more like it than they had before. That lifted his spirits a bit.

He arrived at his car and drove away from the lot, mind focused on the children once again. They were getting a reboot, which was great! The circumstances of the situation left him unsettled, though. 

Where had they been for the last twenty years? It was easy to work himself into a panic within the first week of their disappearance. He had called them frequently, but they never responded or called him back. He and Heloise went to the tower to check on them, but the door was locked and no one answered. Rita and Runt said they saw the Warners go back home after the party to celebrate the completion of their movie, and no one had reported seeing them since. It was like they fell off the face of the earth.

Scratchansniff kept an eye out for any signs of the children. The newspaper reported nothing, the news stations reported nothing, not even Plotz had seen them around. Not that  _ he _ was upset about it. In fact, Plotz seemed to find joy in the Warners’ disappearance. That raised Otto’s suspicions quite a lot.

For weeks, Scratchy searched for the kids. Weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. Somewhere along the road, he had stopped actively searching. He doesn’t remember when.

But now—now, they’ve just appeared out of nowhere. With no warning! He would have been able to predict their arrival with ease before. Some administrator would make an announcement over the system of loudspeakers throughout the lot, or he could hear the chaos they caused outside. This time, the only sign he had was shouting, most of it being from the secretary. And when they had come in, they looked so…  _ fragile _ . And their behavior did not imply anything good.

They were quiet. They were hiding (which wasn’t so unusual in and of itself, but the fact that they chose his office to hide in? That was almost unbelievable). And no matter how hard they tried to mask it, he knew they had been crying. He heard Wakko’s sniffing and Dot’s quiet hiccups. It took all of his willpower to let them be and have their privacy. He would not impose his presence on them.

Scratchansniff sighed as he pulled into his driveway. If he were lucky, they would fill him in on what had happened. That scenario was unlikely though, so he would have to settle with living in ignorance.

Wait.

He could ask the CEO. She must have some idea of where they’ve been. That filled him with some relief—she wasn’t a cruel woman. Sure, she valued her time and abhorred distractions, but she wouldn’t intentionally harm the children because they were a threat to her productivity.

Then again, she wouldn’t go out of her way to release them either, unless their situation would spell disaster for the company. Therefore, the Warners had to have been safe. If not for all twenty years, at least for the period Nora Rita was in charge.

No, whatever made the kids act so out of character  _ had _ to be Plotz’s doing. Thank goodness that man was gone now. If he had hurt them, Scratchansniff would tear him to shreds.

He flopped into his armchair, his things scattered on the floor next to him. Tomorrow, he’d figure things out. Now, though, was a good time to get some rest while he could. After all, if the Warners were back, he’d need as much as he could get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't had a solid night's sleep in weeks, so sorry if this chapter comes out worse than the previous ones.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I'm going to sleep now.
> 
> Next up: The Warners get some revenge on the studio. 2/3 of them have nightmares. All of them remodel their home.


End file.
